Mises,

Could there be a twist to one of your scenarios? The one where you say,

"... due to no cash available anywhere else, would the buyouts be insults?"

The twist being that relative to no available cash, the late stage gold developers would be bought out at a relatively high price when all else is deflated into a meager pittance.

It'd be interesting to find out what Cominco paid for the Con Mine in the 1930's.

Baires